title: [Nucleation time and age in patients with gallstones].
abstract: The relationship between nucleation time (NT), total lipid concentration (TLC) and age was studied in a group of 45 gallstone patients (10 male, 35 female, age 50.1 +/- 14.5 yrs). Bile was obtained by direct fine needle puncture of the gallbladder under local anaesthesia and sonographic monitoring. There was a positive correlation between age and nucleation time (r = 0.626, p less than 0.001), in addition to a negative correlation between age and total bile lipid concentration (TLC) (r = -0.414, p = 0.005). The negative correlation between age and TLC indicates that gallbladder's ability to concentrate the bile decreases significantly with age. It is possible that the decreased concentration is a result of the chronic pathogenetic effects of gallbladder stones. Practically all patients showed a prolonged nucleation time after the 60th year (11.54 +/- 5.50 vs. 2.65 +/- 2.52 days). This would seem to indicate that these patients suffered primarily from bilirubin or calcified stones, currently unsuited for conservative therapy methods.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung Innere Medizin II der Universität Ulm.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Janowitz
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Swobodnik
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Wechsler
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ditschuneit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001646:Bile / Q000737:chemistry; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000378:metabolism; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D001663:Bilirubin
vernacular_title: Nukleationszeit und Alter bei Gallensteinpatienten.